Dog and female dog Yard in Stevenage

[AussieKate]

i have a relli that lived at Dog and female dog Yard, Stevenage, can someone help me out about it.  Rebecca Briars is the person who lived there with her husband Edward and her children Thomas, Sarah, and David and a lady called Mary Spicer (some relli of Rebecca i would think).

thanks

Kate

[petercornish]

Hi Kate,

The 1841 records the Briars family in D & B Yard but the wife is Sarah, not Rebecca.

If you google 'Dog and female dog Yard Stevenage' and open Norman Homepage you will find masses of information including the family in the Yard.

Hope this helps.

Regards   ...   Peter 

[AussieKate]

thanks for that info, but i was wondering what people did there, it seems like a odd name.

[enfrance]

Hi Kate,

I was browsing this site - its my first visit - and I came across your reference to Stevenage and the D&B Yard.

Having been a postman in Stevenage for over 20 years you would think I would know of it! Sadly, not but doing a scruit of the 1841 census pages around the entry for your relatives I'm pretty sure it refers to the area around the High Street in Old Stevenage.  You may not know that after the War a NEW town was built to the south of the Old Stevenage town.

In the 'Norman' website it refers to names such as Back Lane, Ditchmore and Brick Kiln which still survive in some form. Back Lane ran along the rear of the High Street and - this is a  bit of a guess - gave access to the yards which were attached to the various shops and businesses fronting the High Street. If you check the trades of the people on the census they are often the sort of person you would expect, publican, blacksmith, grocer etc.

I have one big problem though. The census notes the main addresses as Fore street. This really is a mystery 'cos as far as I can tell there never has been a Fore Street in Stevenage. However, could it be that the census was transcribed by someone who mistook Fore for High? who knows?

If you want to follow this up perhaps the library service in Stevenage could help. They will be listed under Hertfordshire Services and there surely is a local historical society.

I'm not in a position to help locally as I now live in SW France but I'm sure my old contacts might be of assistance if necessary.

Regards,

Mike

[behindthefrogs]

I would expect the Dog and female dog Yard to be the yard belonging to the Dog and female dog public house.  This would contain a number of small probably one room dwellings possibly over stables.  These would be occupied by poor families.  Most towns contained many of these yards in the middle of the 19th century.

David

[AussieKate]

thanks for that